With
the arrival of October comes a cooling of the summertime heat. Foliage explodes
into a myriad of vibrant colors in many locations in the U.S. In addition, there
are little ghosts, ghouls, demons, and all sorts of
junior-monsters-in-the-making gearing up to once again go out on their annual
evening stroll, collecting as many goodies as they can get their grubby little
hands on.

Another
thing that takes place is the Fall Chiller Theatre Show. This frightful event is
held in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel (located
directly across from the Giants Stadium).

Although
the show takes place twice a year during both the Spring and Fall, October’s
show usually has more excitement in the air. There are many a costumed visitor
on hand to add flavor to the event.

This
year’s Chiller Show took place on the last weekend of October. As was the case
with many of the previous shows, I was once again in attendance. This go-round I
had both of my “Mini-Mees” with me. This was the second time my son Anthony
attended and the first for his younger brother
Michael.

I
had been drafted by Ed “Diceman” Bowkley to conduct a seminar at the show. We
finally agreed upon an “Assembling Models and Seam Filling”
discussion.

The
Costumed CrowdUpon our
arrival we were greeted by a number of grown-up “kids” who had gotten into the
Halloween spirit.

After
we obtained our admission wristbands we proceeded up to the third floor of the
Hotel to the seminar room. I (thankfully) had arrived several hours early,
(which was somewhat out of character for me).

I
deposited my tools and supplies into the seminar room and proceeded across the
hall to the contest room.

Contest
entries

Anthony had
scrounged up three of his models that hadn’t been entered in the any of the
previous Chiller Contests. Two were Gundams – (naturally) – a Wing Zero and a
V-Gundam. In addition, he brought his Liger Zero (Zoid).

We
registered them and then Anthony went back over to the seminar room to hang out
with his brother. I popped out my camera and proceed to take pictures of the
entries.

The
number of models was down from the 100-plus count that usually shows up for
Chiller's October Model Shows. However, what was out on display was up to the
usual high caliber of quality that’s become the norm for this
contest.

One
thing that was really nice was the number of junior entries, which was up a bit.
In addition, a number of the kids really did some top-notch work on their
models.

One
that caught my eye was a really nice Polar Lights’ Headless Horseman entry. The
paint job was really well done, with some nicely detailed paint and subtle
weathering applied.

Another
model that left an impression on me (in the non-junior category) was a really,
REALLY GRIM and MORBID diorama of The Batman. He was lying lifeless, vertically,
with his arms outstretched on a cross. There were numerous bullet holes riddling
his body. A maniacal Joker was stooped down to one side of the base, with either
a grimace of pain or a BIIIIGGGG SMILE on his face.

This
entry was done very well (I thought), with very subtle characteristics like the
steel colors of the ends of the bullets that were visible, along with a trickle
of drying blood trailing down from each hole. This was one really good (and
equally disturbing) piece.

Another
entry that was equally good (and warped) was a diorama scene depicting what
appeared to be deranged Clown-in-the-box, with an array of "death-toys"
positioned at its base.

There
were two really kool Gundam entries. One was a full diorama, showing the end of
a battle between a Zaku and a Gundam, on some shoreline. The builder did an
excellent job in creating waves coming in. In addition, the overall composition
of the scene was done very well.

With
the second Gundam entry (titled something like "Start over again)”, the robot
was MAJORLY MELTED!!!! The builder had used a lighter to melt certain areas of
the Gundam. He used the naturally occurring Brown-burnt color to add that burnt
look to it. For the shield, he had accidentally sent it on fire, (quickly
putting it out). I got a chance to talk to him while he was registering
it.